Knee-supporting brace



Patented Feb. 26, 1 952 KNEE SUPPORTING BRACE- Frank J. .lovick, San Francisco, Calif., assignmof one-half to Vance Jovick, Arlington, Va.

Application January 6, 1950, Serial No. 137,077

2 Claims.

This invention relates to surgical applicances particularly used for supporting the knee joints of athletes and the like, and in particular a brace having bands above and below the knee with the bands hinged together on the joint and with the bands held by a flat spring plate positioned across the outer surface of the knee wherein the combination of the spring with the hinged elements retains the ball and socket joint of the knee in position and prevents the knee going out of joint.

The purpose of this invention is to provide a knee brace for positively preventing accidental separation of the bones of the knee particularly where knees have been weakened through injuries, and which does not interfere with natural movement of the leg,

In the usual type of knee support the supporting elements cause a slight limp and give the appearance of a stiff leg, and for this reason many people with injured knees object to wearing supports. With this thought in mind this invention contemplates a positive brace that permits natural bending and walking action of the knee and that positively prevents the joint parts moving x out of their natural positions.

The object of this invention is, therefore, to provide means for forming a knee brace that may readily be positioned over a, knee which permits natural knee action and prevents the knee going out of joint.-

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved knee brace that may be worn by both men and women and that may be worn Without changing the external appearance of garments over the knee.

A further object of the invention is to provide a knee brace that positively holds the knee in position without interfering with natural knee action which is of a simple and economical construction.

With these and other objects and advantages in view the invention embodies a pair of bands hinged together by extended arms and urged toward a straight position by a spring band in slip sockets extended from the bands. A

Other features and advantages of the invention will appear from the following description taken in connection with the drawings where- Figure 1 is a view showing the side elevation of the knee brace positioned on a leg with the leg straight.

Figure 2 is a front elevational view showing the brace as illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view similar to that shown in Fig- '2 ure 1 showing the position of the brace with the knee bent.

Figure 4 is a cross section through the flat I spring and socket of the lower band being taken on line 44 of Figure 2.

Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters denote corresponding parts the improved knee brace of this invention includes an upper band ID, a lower band II, and a flat steel spring [2.

The bands I and II are substantially semicircular in shape and'the ends are connected with elastic bands [3 and I4, respectively, the band l3 being attached to the ends of the band In by stitches or fasteners I 5 and the ends of the band l0 being attached to the ends of the band H by stitches or fasteners IS.

The bands and Il may be made of steel,

plastic, leather or any suitable material.

Downwardly extended arms I! and l8.with enlarged plates [9 and on the upper ends are secured to the sides of the band lit by rivets 2|, and similar arms 22 and 23 with enlarged base elements 24 and 25, respectively, are secured to the band II by rivets 26. The ends of the arms I! and 22 are pivotally connected by hinges 21 and the ends of the arms l8 and 23 are similarly connected by hinges 28.

A socket 29, rectangular shaped in cross section and having a flat base is secured to the band II] by rivets 3|, and a similar socket 32 which is provided with a base 33 is secured to the band I l by rivets 34. The flat steel spring I2 is positioned with the ends extended into the sockets 29 and 32, as illustrated, and when the knee is bent the ends of the spring slide in the sockets, as illustrated in Figure 3.

A semicircular brace 35 is secured to the back of the socket 29 with the ends secured to the arms I! and I8 by rivets 36, and a similar brace 31, that is secured to the back of the socket 32 is positioned with the ends secured to the arms 22 and 23 by rivets 38.

With the parts arranged in this manner the upper band It] is positioned around the lower part of the thigh above the knee and the band l3 around the upper part of the calf below the knee. The bands are adjusted so that the hinges 21 and 28 register with the bend point of the knee socket or joint, and with the parts positioned in this manner the knee is free to bend in the usual manner and the bones are positively held in position whereby unnatural movement of the lower end of the bone of the thigh in relation to the upper end of the shin bone is positively prevented.

It will be understood that other modifications may be made in the design andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a knee brace, the combination which comprises an upper substantially semicircular band having ends, a lower substantially semicircular band having ends, an elastic strap connecting the ends of the upper band, an elastic strap connecting the ends of the lower band, downwardly extended arms carried by the upper band and spaced from the ends thereof, upwardly extended arms carried by the lower band and spaced from the ends thereof, means hinging the ends of the arms together, a socket rectangular shaped in cross section carried by and extended downwardly from the upper band and positioned on the front of the brace, an upwardly extended socket rectangular shaped in cross section carried by and extended from the lower band and positioned on the front of the brace, and a spring steel band connecting the sockets and positioned with the ends thereof slidable in the sockets.

2. In a knee brace, the combination which comprises an upper substantially semicircular band having ends, a lower substantially semicircular band having ends, an elastic strap connecting the ends of the upper band; an elastic strap connecting the ends of the lower band, down- 4 wardly extended arms carried by the upper band and spaced from the ends thereof, upwardly extended arms carried by the lower band and spaced from the ends thereof, means hinging the ends of the arms together, a socket rectangular shaped in cross section carried by and extended downwardly from the upper band and positioned on the front of the brace, an upwardly extended socket rectangular shaped in cross section carried by and extended from the lower band and positioned on the front of the brace, a spring steel band connecting the sockets and positioned with the ends thereof slidable in the sockets, and semi-circular braces extended over the front of the brace connecting the arms extended upwardly and downwardly from the bands and connected to the sockets for supporting the sockets from the arms. 7

FRANK J. JOVICK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Meany r Feb. 8, 1949 

